The invention herein relates to a supermarket-type check-out counter. An example of such counter is illustrated and described in my prior Pat. No. 4,182,433 issued Jan. 8, 1980.
In general, supermarket check-out counters are formed with a forward, customer unloading area and a rear, bagging area. Commonly, the customer unloading area is formed of a large cabinet upon which a belt-type conveyor is mounted. Thus, a retail customer in a supermarket, by way of example, unloads her shopping basket of goods upon the upper surface of the conveyor belt. Operation of the belt results in the merchandise moving longitudinally of the cabinet towards an operator station. The check-out operator receives the merchandise moved toward her and, at the point, records the costs of the merchandise on an appropriate cash register device.
Once the operator has recorded the charges, the goods are moved upon a rear cabinet area, which may be an extension of the forward cabinet or may be a separate cabinet, upon whose surface the goods remain momentarily. Then, either a separate, so called bagger, takes the goods and places them into bags for removal by the customer or, alternatively, the check-out operator places the merchandise into bags.
In prior check-out counters, one form of counter includes both a customer unloading belt, for carrying the merchandise to the operator, and a second belt upon which the operator places the checked goods for carrying to the bagging surface or deck of the rear of the counter. In some forms of counters, only one belt is used, i.e., the one carrying the merchandise to the check out operator. Thus, various arrangements of belts, or simply conveying surfaces upon which the goods are slid by either the customer or the check out counter have been utilized in the past.
In my prior patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,433, identified above, the counter is formed of a pair of separate modules or cabinets, which are spaced apart. The two modules are interconnected by a conveyor belt which can be swung into a horizontal conveying position, or alternatively drop downwardly into a nonuse position.
Recently, scanning devices have become available which can read or sense the indicia imprinted upon goods and automatically record these within a computer-like cash register. For example, in a typical supermarket, each item of merchandise has some form of indicia imprinted thereon to designate the price. In one form, the price may be designated in readable numerals. In other forms, various lines or symbols of different thicknesses and lengths are utilized for that purpose. Whatever the form, there are now commercially available sensing devices or scanners which can read and record the information and thereby automatically ring-up the charges. Where such scanning devices are used, it is necessary for the check-out operator to properly position the goods over the sensing device. With the presently available types of counters, the positioning or movement of goods manually over the sensing device is relatively slow and requires some degree of careful movement and lifting of the goods by the operator.
The check-out counter of this application is constructed to have a built in sensing or scanning device with the counter being so arranged that the check-out operator can utilize both hands for rapid movement of goods, which are moved toward her, over the sensing device and to side conveyors located on either side of the operator, to carry the goods to the bagging counter. Thus, this counter contemplates a highly efficient check-out arrangement that permits very rapid movement of goods by the check-out operator over and through the sensing device and to the bagging area. This speeds up the customer checkout operation considerably.